Chapter 100 - 88: Princess

"052?"

Zhou Chen paused. ’What does this number mean?’

’If I’m not mistaken, a lot of the goods in this warehouse must be smuggled items from the West Wind Smuggling Gang. This is the Wei Group’s estate, so it’s secure enough. Plus, the owner is a loyal follower of the Eternal Fire, which makes it a perfect place to hide the stash.’

’If they’re smuggled goods, the number could mean many things.’

’Cargo number 52? Forbidden Object 052? From Zone 052?’

The Sealing Secret Ceremony placed on it was very high-level, which highlighted the cargo’s importance. The West Wind Smuggling Gang had always maintained strict standards for protecting their goods. Unless the seal was torn by brute force, it could only be opened with its corresponding Alchemy Key.

’As for the Alchemy Key... who the hell knows where it is.’

Notably, most of the boxes in the warehouse didn’t have a Sealing Secret Ceremony. Or rather, they once did, but the Eternal Fire had cracked them one by one. The ones that remained were all Advanced seals they were powerless against, like the box marked "052."

"Jiang Che, I’m looking at a box over here. It seems to be smuggled goods from the West Wind gang, marked ’052.’ Do you have any idea what’s inside?" Zhou Chen asked, figuring it couldn’t hurt. He knew Jiang Che must have seen the complete inventory list.

Jiang Che, who was usually quick to respond, didn’t answer. She was probably busy directing the battle and couldn’t be distracted.

He stopped wasting time, found a sturdy burlap sack in a corner of the warehouse, and began to clean the place out.

’Destroyer K-50s, Watcher Z-30s... So much military hardware? The West Wind gang is really well-connected. They can get their hands on the latest weapon models, and they’re all loaded with Enchanted Bullets.’

’Extremely high-purity Essence Crystals? Damn, did they rob an Advanced mine? Gotta take all of these...’

’A Gargoyle’s crystal, a Starlight Sapphire, Spiritual Platinum, Purple Coral, a Magma Man’s Heart... These all seem like pretty decent Alchemy Materials. Taking them, taking them all...’

’Huh? Two kidneys? What species are they from... Holy shit, they’re human kidneys. Organ smuggling?’

’A record of a Siren’s beautiful song? I’ve never heard a Siren sing before. I’ll take it back for a listen...’

’This set of Alchemy Scalpels is pretty nice. I don’t have a use for them, but I can sell them for cash when I get back...’

’A humanoid doll? It’s so realistic. Not a real person, but it might as well be. I remember there’s a Restricted Area that specializes in Alchemy Humanoid Dolls, and their adult entertainment industry is highly developed. They have Beast Girls, Elves... Old Yang would definitely love this...’

After picking through the loot, Zhou Chen had filled his burlap sack with quite a few things. To be honest, though, the quality wasn’t that high. The truly valuable items had long since been taken by the Eternal Fire; he could only pick through the trash they didn’t want.

Even so, this haul made him quite a bit richer. Once he got back and sold or traded everything, it wouldn’t be long before he could gather the materials needed for his Advancement ceremony.

Just as he was immersed in the joy of opening crates, a menacing black shadow slid silently across the floor, casting a bizarre, threatening silhouette under the cold incandescent lights.

Zhou Chen froze, sensing something. He spun around, drew his gun, and fired an Alchemy Bullet at the floor.

BANG!

Stone fragments and dust flew as the bullet blasted a hole in the floor.

The menacing black shadow darted away, vanishing into the shadows cast by the cargo.

’Gentleman?’

Zhou Chen’s expression turned grim. He took a few steps into a lit area, warily watching all the surrounding shadows—including his own.

’It’s not Gentleman. He should be chasing Li Xiaoxiao. So what is this thing? Its ability is similar to Gentleman’s, and the silhouette I just saw looked like a monster...’ With a mere thought, layers of black metal proliferated, spreading over his body like flowing water. In an instant, he was encased in full-coverage armor.

A long, silent standoff followed.

The warehouse was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Zhou Chen slowed his breathing, listening to his own heartbeat. In the protracted silence, he couldn’t help but wonder if the shadow had already left.

He knew a continued stalemate was no solution, so he tried to relax his body slightly. Then, just as he did—

CRUNCH!

A grating, scraping sound rang out and sparks flew. A massive force slammed into Zhou Chen’s shoulder, sending him lunging forward involuntarily. He rolled once on the ground to bleed off the momentum and then whipped around, aiming the Flintlock Gun in his hand behind him.

Nothing was there.

He glanced at the armor on his shoulder. It bore four deep claw marks, with four thin strands of metal peeled away from the surface.

’Not Gentleman. It’s some kind of monster with an Ability similar to his... An Abyssal Creature raised by Gentleman?’

An idea came to Zhou Chen. He reached out, pressing his palm against a metal crate. In the blink of an eye, the huge container broke down into countless fragments. Under the influence of his Transformation Array, the pieces were converted into various substances and then re-formed, rapidly fusing into an Alchemy Bomb the size of a basketball.

He tossed it casually, then summoned an Alloy Round Shield to guard his front as a second layer of protection. A deafening explosion immediately followed.

BOOM!

Flames engulfed the entire Room in the Crack. The Soul-Burning Flame, concentrated to its absolute limit within the bomb, erupted like a volcano. Pale waves of fire surged forth, seeping into every last corner of the warehouse.

Now that his Essence Capacity had returned to normal levels, Zhou Chen could pull off some flashier moves.

For instance, this time he used Alchemy to concentrate a massive amount of Cyan Flame to its absolute limit, then detonated it all at once with high explosives. The result was that the entire surrounding area received an "enthusiastic baptism" by the Soul-Burning Flame.

The effect was especially potent in a sealed space like this.